


Quiet Conversations

by undernightlight



Series: Gays in Space [8]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: M/M, Sharing a Bed, Talking, cute little thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 14:00:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15341364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undernightlight/pseuds/undernightlight
Summary: Malcolm and Trip just talk a little one night.





	Quiet Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> This is short and not brilliant, I know, but I love this pairing, so wrote this quickly.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

He was always so much more conscious of his walking when he was walking to Trip’s quarters. He always felt like people were watching him, that they knew where he was going and why he was heading there to late. They would be no real way for them to know, but he couldn’t help but feel paranoid.

Malcolm was more conscious of his pace, trying to figure out if he was walking to fast, like he was eager, or if he was walking too slow, like he was delaying something. He was eager though, after a long day of work, to see him partner, to snuggle up close to him, to breath him in and relax.

He pressed on the control panel and waited, and a second or two later, the door opened, Trip standing there with bright eyes and a soft smile.

“Hey Malcolm,” he said, as the tactical officer stepped in and the door closed behind him

“Trip,” and he nodded his head politely. He was still so new to this, to relationships on general, and he was so scared he’d fuck it up somehow. He still wasn’t always sure how to act, so Trip was often the one to initiate contact. It was no exception that night, as Trip walked over to him, placing his steady hands on Malcolm’s waist and pulling him closer.

“I missed ya,” he said, as Malcolm adjusted his arms to sit comfortably across Trip’s neck and shoulders.

“You saw me at lunch.”

“I can still miss ya, can’t I?”

“I missed you too.” Trip leaned in and Malcolm couldn’t help but smile as their lips connected. This was nice, this was what made him happy and made him feel safe. Their movements were slow and lasting, sweet and passionate, and Malcolm liked that. They pulled apart, though Malcolm was reluctant, stretching up to keep contact as long as possible as Trip straightened out. Malcolm could feel his smile.

“What you want to do tonight, watch a film, listen to music, go eat a late meal in the mess? Have you eaten? You have a bad habit of skipping meals when ya working hard, and I know you’ve been working hard cause I saw ya at lunch and you were lookin’ tired darlin’.” He rambled a little and Malcolm just stood there looking at him with a smile.

“I ate before I came.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. I made sure to eat because I knew that once I was here, I wouldn’t want to leave.” He wrapped his arms around Trip’s next again, pulling him close so there bodies were flat against each other. Trip grinned such a goofy smile and they kissed again.

“So, what ya wanna do?”

“I just want to be with you.”

“You’re a sap, you know that? Imagine what the Cap’in would think if he saw ya like this?”

“He doesn’t need to know.”

Malcolm pulled back with a happy smile. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling when he was with Trip; he made him feel like a love sick teenager again, and it was such a wonderful feeling. He sat on his bed, and Trip sat next next to him.

“Should we just stay here then? We can just talk, I wanna to hear about ya day.”

“You know about my day.”

“Well, I wanna hear it again.” Trip nudged him with his shoulder. “Let’s relax, have a nice time.” The engineer started to kick of his boots and Malcolm followed suit, followed back stripping off their uniforms to just their underwear. They shifted and laid down on the bed together, Trip pushed up against the wall and Malcolm in his arms, back against his chest. It was a tight fit on a single bed.

“You know, I should ask for my quarters to be upgraded.”

“Upgraded?”

“To get a bigger bed, so we can be a bit more comfortable.”

“I’m perfectly comfortable right where I am,” and that earned a muffled laugh from Trip that he could feel against his neck, “And besides, wouldn’t you need to give a reason why?”

“Possibly, though I don’t think Jon would care too much.”

“I’d still rather things stay the way they are.”

“That’s because you like it all secret like this, sneakin’ around.”

“It’s not like that Trip, it’s just I like my personal life to remain private, not public knowledge, or in our case ship knowledge.”

“People will have to know eventually.”

“I know, I just...I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.” His arms pulled Trip’s closer to his chest, and their legs shifted to interlock. Trip nuzzled into his neck further. They’d been together a while, over two months, nearly three, and they hadn’t told anybody yet. Malcolm did find it hard sometimes, when they’d eat lunch together and they’d just have to act like friends. Sometimes their legs would rest together, his between Trip’s or the other way around, but he’d end up drawing his feet under his chair if he thought anyone was looking in their direction. They couldn’t hold hands or hug like they could when they were alone, and they couldn’t share simple kisses in passing. If they were back on Earth, eating in a restaurant or walking down the street, things would be different because if people saw them, that would be fine as they’d never see them again. But here, on a starship, where the people that would see them together would continue to see them for however long in the future, was a bit too daunting for Malcolm. “I’m sorry,” he said, because he knew how much it mean to Trip.

“Hey, don’t worry about it.”

“I know you want to tell people, it’s just-”

“Malcolm, relax, I understand. I mean, yeah, I’d like it if I could give ya a kiss next to the warp engine but I want you to be comfortable, that’s more important.”

“Thank you.” Malcolm couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have someone as wonderful as Trip by his side. He rolled around in Trip’s grasp, turning to face him, and kissed him. “It mean a lot to me.”

“I mean, I’m hurt, so you ‘ave some makin’ up to do.” Trip’s tone was jokey, warm, and he had a smug smile across his face as their lips made contact again. Malcolm thought, why not? He deepened the kiss, finding a hand on Trip’s back and pulling him closed, pushing his hips into his partner’s. Their legs tangled together so easily and Trip’s hand moved to Malcolm’s neck, tangling his fingers in stray strands of hair. Malcolm used his height to push Trip over onto his back, and Malcolm swung his leg over to straddle Trip’s waist.

The engineer smiled. “Ya know I was only jokin’, right?”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I can’t show my appreciation nonetheless.” They both grinned as Malcolm lowered himself again. “Unless,” and he stopped himself, his lips hovering over his partner’s, “You would rather me stop?”

“Hell no.” Trip pushing himself up to meet Malcolm’s lips, and any remaining stress from his day in engineering just dissipated.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm torn; I don't know if I ship Malcolm more with Trip or with Hayes, but I love both pairings, so I'm going to try a Mal and J one at some point, but I don't have much inspiration right now, which is so incredibly frustrating.
> 
> If anyone had any ideas, let me know!


End file.
